The Era'thora (High Giants, in their tongue) were a powerful and advanced race that ruled over most of the Sohl'jur (Shaped Land, the term they used to refer to the world) several millenia ago. Now extinct, their legacy still exists around the world of Solcu be it in the form of misterious ruins or in the culture of the varios races.

The Asha know the first generation of era'thora as Daeva, althought their view of the high giants is not enterely accurated.

The Era'thora are extremely quite and fast and resistance to most of the elements

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The high giants were a humanoid race with six limbs: four arms and two legs. The average height was of 12 meters, with a powerful but fit build. Both male and female shared this traits.

The body of an era'thora represented and was composed of the four elements in a delicate balance. Due to this inorganic nature, they survived consuming both organic and inorganic materials in order to absorb their ineherent elemental energies.

They had no need for sleeping, but needed to meditate on a daily basis. This practice was necessary for them to maintain the ekhuisbrum (Equilibrium or Balance) of their four elemental concurrent natures and minds. An era'thora that lost its balance would become an enraged elemental monstrosity known as Dum (Doom). There are no records of Dum returning to their ekhuisbrum state from the akun (Chaos) state.

The conflictive energies that flow through and form their bodies determined the high giants' life span, mental health and fertility. While most of the era'thora used to live for more than nine centuries, that depended mostly on the maintenance of the ekhuisbrum, as they could die due to their elemental energies extinguishing each other. Some high giants (usually, the most strong-willed) were known to live not longer than a few thousand years.

Being sane was also a daily battle for the era'thora, since they had to find the balance between their four different and often conflicting personalities. Even if the physical balance was kept, loosing the mental balance would mean turning into a Dum in the short-term.

Births were rare among the high giants: it was not easy for the combined elemental energies of two parents to merge into a new stable being. However, when that happened, the progeny used to be numerous, with four to eight children.

After their victory over the fierce and powerful giants, the gods decided to rebuild the ravaged world with the help of the defeated. The conflictive beings were merge into new existences that embodied the powers and nature of the elements: the Era'thora or High Giants, as they would call themselves latter.

The Dwelling of the High Ones, capital of the Era'thora. (Art by vladgheneli)

Guided by their creators, the era'thora healed and rebuilt the world: they breathed the skies, sculpted the mountains and digged unmeasurable caverns under the crust of Sohl'jur, the Shaped Land. When the works were finished, the high giants were given part of the land to live and build their homes.

On the shores of the Pond of Cetus, where the storm-god used to rest and meditate, the city of Era'dan Urhal (Dwelling of the High Ones) was founded. The land was molded and the majestic halls were raised by the servants of the gods. When the work was finished, the era'thora choose the powerful artisan Muh to rule among them as their rehk (king).

Over the following centuries, the first generation of era'thora expanded their dominion over the land as new cities were founded: Thora'num, Ir'helest and Ir'juthor were their names. Their creators rejoiced on their expansion and blessed their loyalty. In returned, the gods used to ask them to fight hordes of monsters that scourged the antipodes of the world or to repress their insolents creations and followers. Nevertheless, the eldest era'thora (called dae'va, First Born) served their masters' will with endless devotion.

Rebellion of the Mortal Races and the Rising of the Era'thorae RepublicEdit

After a few millenia, most of the mortal races of the Sohl'jur started a war against the gods. The dae'vha prepared the rehk'staht (king's domain) for war and very powerful artifacts were forged to help anhilate the rebellious creations of the theon (gods).

It is said that the First Born fought many battles against the asha and others, usually being vanquished due to the treacherous tactics of the inferior races. In order to perfect their killing skills, Maht and Eshka gave the dae'vha control over the Light and the Darkness. As a result, they grew a third pair of arms and become legendary creatures feared by the Asha: the daeva.

The conflict between the mortals and the gods ended when the theon and the dae'vha were banished to an otherwordly realm known as Du'at (Abyss Beyond). Some mortal creatures believe that a few "daeva" scaped the fate of their masters and remained in the isolated regions of Solcu; however, even if these alleged dae'vha stayed, they never tried to contact with the remaining era'thora.

After the fall of the gods, the remaining high giants understood that there were no omnipotent beings in the universe nor should they be worshipped. As a result, the era'thora destroyed the idols of their makers and their temples would turn into centers of knowledge and investigation.

Other counsequence of the war was that the rekh had dissappeared and beleived to have been vanisehd to Du'at. The heiress to the rehk'staht was Mhu's daughter, the powerful mage Rakna. Her first act of government was to create a council of elected wise men and woman or sehnek'da (Council of Virtuous Born) to govern the high giants domain. With this act, she gained the favor of people and was declared Sehnek Prihma (First among the Virtous Born), and she became the factical co-leader of the newly founded Era'thorae Republic.

The Era'thorae believed that the theon had created them. Six of them (called the Dae'theon, First among the Gods) ruled the other theon, less powerful and influencing. The high giants only worshipped this six lords of the elements, while revering the other lesser divine beings.

Dae'theon

Maht: His name meant "light", and was also called Rah'lor (Lord of the Day). He ruled over the day, life and creation.

Eshka: Her name meant "darkness", and was also called Neh'lar (Lady of the Night). Her sphere of influence included the night, death and destruction.

Magvar: Also called Khorp'rethar (Burning Heart), his name meant "fire". He was the lord of fire, passion and battle.

Maira: Her name meant "water", and was called Khorp'moras (Beguiling Heart). She ruled the water, love and fertility.

Cetus: Also called Iusir'da (Righteous One), his name meant "air". He ruled the air, justice and persistence.

Thena: Called Ar'a'Khena (She of the Fertile Womb), her name meant "earth". She ruled the land and all its children (both organic and unorganic), being worshipped for her wisdom and supportive nature.

TheAhn'si: Feared by the Era'thora, the Changebringer's appearances preluded great changes, often traumatic.

TheDaur'on Arhal: This chaotic deity was the father of all dragons. Sometimes an ally and other times an enemy, the Great Serpent of the Skies shifted his position towards to dae'theon and its followers as it was convenient.

The As'lar Erea: Goddess of the wild and the hunt, the Green Lady of the Forest was a savage and indomitable entity; because of that, only some Era'thora venerated her.

The Enhal Sir'el: The most important among the lesser theons, the Maiden of Gentle Voice was the patron of music and the arts. The era'thora celebrated her by creating marvels.

Only during the early era'thorae history were the theon worshipped. After the apparent dissappearance of the Dae'theon, the high giants of the second generation decided to stop worshipping them. Since that period, the temples of the theon remained mostly silent and abandoned.